Scaling ladder



Dec. 28, 1943. v HEBERT 2,337,816

SCALING LADDER Filed Oct. 23, 1942 ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 28, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SCALING LADDER Peter Hebert, New Bcdford, Mass.

Application October 23, 1942, Serial No. 463,107

4 Claims.

This invention relates to scaling ladders and is more particularly directed to the provision of a combination ladder which can be remotely positioned in angular step-ladder relation over a vertical barrier by operation solely from one side of the barrier.

The chief object of the invention is to provide a durable, portable, compact, and simply-operated device for scaling barriers and which, in barrier-scaling position, provides ladder elements on both sides of the intervening barrier, although the positioning of the ladder over the barrier or removal of the ladder therefrom can be controlled entirely from the ground at one side of the barrier.

'To these ends, the device comprises essentially two ladder elements, properly connected, as shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

a Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the device in an intermediate position;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the device in collapsed transporting position;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the device positioned over a barrier, and

Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken between the lines 4-4 of Fig. 2.

In its simplest form the two ladder elements may be of identical size. The base element 2 is of usual form, but has provided along outer surfaces of its stiles, iron rails 4 and 6 which receive slides 8 and I0, respectively, which in turn are pivotally connected to arms I2 and I4, the other ends of which are bolted along the stiles of the auxiliary ladder element 20, so as to provide sliding and pivotal connections between the two ladder elements 2 and 20, one at each side of the two elements. As shown, the arms I2 and H! are conveniently off-set so that the ends of the arms may lie flush against the stiles of the auxiliary ladder 20 in which position they may be readily bolted to the element 22.

By reason of this connection between the ladder elements, ladder element 20 may be slidably moved relative to ladder element 2 along its whole length, limited only by bolts 22 and 24 at either end of the rails 4 and 6, which act as stops to prevent inadvertent separation of the elements.

In order to provide means for causing such sliding movement when the ladder element 2 is in an upright or substantially vertical position, suitable ropes and pulleys are provided. In order to provide sufiicient leverage to hoist the auxiliary ladder 20 over the top of ladder 2, the pulleys are positioned, as shown in Fig. 2, above the end of ladder element 2. This is accomplished by attaching the pulleys to members extending beyond the top of element 2 which, in the preferred form, act also as hand rails when the device is in barrier-scaling position. These members take a curvilinear form, as shown at 26, 28 in the drawing, and are supported by attachment at either side to the ladder element 2.

Pulleys 30 are suspended from hand rails 26, 28 and carry ropes 32 which extend from anchorages through angle irons 34 at the foot of ladder element 20 through the pulleys 30 and downwardly to a length suitable for operation from the foot of element 2, although these ropes, for convenience, are shown broken off in the drawing. By reason of this construction, element 20 may be raised to the position shown in Fig. 1 by operation of the ropes 32 and may be raised beyond that position until slides 8 and I0 contact stops 24. During the latter portion'of this movement, depending upon the particular position of the ladders relative to the ground, the sliding ladder 26, because of the spacing provided by connecting members l2 and M, will tend to pivot about the top of ladder element 2 until it reaches the angular step-ladder position shown in Fig. 3, surmounting a barrier 50. In order to guide properly this pivoting movement, I provide guides 36 affixed to the top of ladder element 2 and an additional pair of pulley and rope connections including the pulleys 38, also suspended from the members 26 and 28, and carrying ropes M) anchored through angle irons 42 attached to the top of element 20. The other ends of ropes 4!] may be conveniently carried to a suitable length for operation at or near the point of operating ropes 32.

As will be seen, this supplementary pulley-rope arrangement can be used to restrain the pivoting movement of the element 2!! and may be utilized to reverse the operation of the device when it is desired to remove the scaling ladder from its position over the barrier.

In order to strengthen the hand rail members 28 and 28, a metal cross piece 44 connects their remote ends and acts additionally, as shown in Fig. 3, as a stop for limiting the pivotal movement of the element 20.

There is also shown a pair of catch elements 46 which may be suitably positioned so as to fit over a rung 48 in the ladder element 2 when the device is brought to the position shown in Fig. 2 and thus retain the tops of the two ladder elements in adjacent position as an aid in transporting the collapsed device.

By reason of such construction, as will be the other element, and ropes manually accessible from the ground when said elements are in an initial inclined upright position on the ground with the foot and top of one element adjacent, respectively, the foot and top of the other element, for slidably moving one element along the other element to a position such that the sliding element will pivot about a remote end of the other element and for controllably lowering the top end of said sliding element to the ground bringing the two elements into angular step-ladder relation.

2. A barrier scaling device comprising two ladder elements and connecting means between said elements permitting relative movement therebetween, including sliding and pivotal connections between the foot of one element and both sides of the other element, control means manually accessible from the ground when said elements are in an initial inclined upright position on the ground with the foot and top of one element adjacent, respectively, the foot and top of the other element, for slidably moving one of said elements from said initial position to a position such that the sliding element will pivot about the remote end of the other element to bring the two elements into angular step-ladder relation, and control means likewise manually accessible from the ground on the side of said device away from the pivoted element for returning said pivoted element from its step-ladder position to its initial position.

3. A barrier scaling device comprising a main ladder element, an auxiliary ladder element and connecting means between said elements permitting relative movement therebetween, including slidin and pivoting connections between the foot of said auxiliary element and both sides of said main element, hand rails extending beyond one end of said main element, pulleys associated with said hand rails, a rope afiixed to the foot of the auxiliary element, a rope aifixed to the top of the auxiliary element, both of said ropes running through said pulleys to a position adjacent the foot of the main element in such manner that the auxiliary element may be slidably moved along the main element from an initial position whereat its foot and top are adjacent, respectively, the foot and top of the main element to a position such that the auxiliary element may be guidedly pivoted about the remote end of the main element to bring thetwo elements into angular stepladder relation.

4. A barrier scaling device comprising a main ladder element, an auxiliary ladder element and connecting means between said elements permitting relative movement therebetween, including sliding and pivoting connections between the foot of said auxiliary element and both sides of said main element, hand rails extending beyond one end of said main element, pulleys associated with said hand rails, a pair of ropes affixed to the foot of the guiding element, a pair of ropes afilxed to the top of the auxiliary element, all of said ropes running through said pulleys to a position adjacent the foot of the main element in such manner that the auxiliary element may be slidably moved along the main element from an initial position wherein its foot and top are adjacent, respectively, the foot and top of the main element to a position such that the auxiliary element may pivot about the remote end of the main element to bring the two elements into angular step-ladder relation and may be remotely returned to its initial position.

PETER HEBERT. 

